Overrunning clutch for tractor drawn forage cutters and blowers



April 18 1950 c. w. HANSEN OVERRUNNING CLUTCH FOR TRACTOR DRAWN FORAGE CUTTERS AND BLowERs Filed Juna 10, 1946 Patented Apr. 18, 1950 OVERRUNNING CLUTCH FOB TRACTOR DRAWN FORAGE CUTTERS AND BLOWERS Charles W. Hansen, Racine, Wis., assignor to J. 1. Case Company, Racine, Wis., a corporation of Wisconsin Application June 10, 1946, Serial No. 675,619

My invention relates to overrunning clutches.

ning drive with improved means for housing the pawls.

A further object is to provide such a construction having a detachable cover for the pawls to enable ready inspection and adjustment of the pawls and-springs.

A further object of my invention is to provide an improved overrunning drive for blowers.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the description and claims.

In the drawings, in which two embodiments of my invention are shown,

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a forage harvester with fan cover'opened;

Fig. 2 is a face elevational view of an overrunning drive used in the harvester;

Fig. 3 is a section on the line 33 of Fig. 2, and

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view similar to Fig. 3 showing a modification.

Referring to the drawings in detail, and first to Figs. 1, 2 and 3, the forage harvester shown in a general way comprises a wheeled harvester drawn by a power-driven tractor (not shown). The harvester comprises the carriage having the ground-engaging wheels I, a shaft 2 driven from the power take-off of the tractor (not shown), cutting sickle mechanism (not shown) and feed mechanism 3 for the cut forage, a rotary cutter 4- and fan 5 for cutting and chopping the material delivered to the housing from the feed mechanism 3 and blowing it into the upwardlyextending delivery pipe 6, transmission including the sprocket 5 on the shaft 2 and the chain 5 driven from the sprocket 5 for driving the cutting sickle mechanism, and feed mechanism 3 from the shaft 2, and transmission for driving the cutting and blowing mechanisms from the shaft 2.

The cutting and blowing mechanism comprises an irregularly shaped rotor I secured to rotate with the shaft 8, a plurality ofcutting or chopping blades 4 secured to one side of the rotor 1 and co-operating with a shear blade 9 for chopping of! short sections of the crop as it is fed in by the feeder 3, and a plurality of radially-extending fan blades 5 secured adjacent the outer portionv pipe.

2 Claims. (Cl. 146-107) It sometimes happens that the tractor is stopped rather suddenly in consequence of which the cutting sickle and feeding apparatus also stops suddenly. In order to make sure that this sudden stoppage does not leave the fan casing or housing l0 choked with cut material which would interfere with its starting up again, an overrunning drive is provided between the shafts 2 and 8 which will enable the rotor I to overrun the drive shaft 2 so that the momentum of the rotor will keep it running for some time after the feed mechanism 3 has stopped, thus cieaning out the fan casing and delivery pipe.

This overrunning drive construction comprises a rotatable ratchet wheel II, a rotatable pawlcarrying wheel 12 coaxial with the ratchet wheel having a circular web portion l3 and a peripheral cylindrical flange portion H, and a plurality of pawls l5 pivotally mounted on the web portion inside the flange portion and spring-pressed into engagement with the ratchet teeth by means of the coil torsion springs I. A detachable annular cover I1 is provided for housing the pawls. A

sprocket wheel l'l is secured to the pawl-carrying wheel l2 which drives a chain II which, in turn, drives a sprocket wheel l9 secured to the fan and cutter shaft 8. The ratchet teeth face in a direction such that the ratchet wheel II will drive the pawl-carrying wheel I2, the rotation of the shaft and wheel being in the direction of the arrow 20 shown in Fig. 2.

The ratchet wheel ll, pawls l5 and cover II are secured to the pawl-carrying wheel l2 by means of bolts 2| inserted through registering openings in the cover, pawls, pawl-carrying wheel and ratchet wheel, these bolts being held in place by means of lock nuts 22 and cotter pins 23.

For further housing the ratchet wheel and pawls, a triangular cover plate 24 is provided which extends across the opening in the annular cover plate and is secured to the pawl-carrying wheel by bolts 25 which extend through registering openings in the cover plate and pawl-carrying wheel. .The hub 26 of the pawl-carrying wheel is rotatably mounted on the hub 21 of the ratchet wheel, an oiler 28 being provided for lubrication between the hubs. The ratchet wheel and pawlcarrying wheel are held in assembled position by the engagement of the ends of the hubs 26 and 2'! with a washer 29 on the drive shaft 2 and by means of a lock nut 30 threaded on the end of the drive shaft 2 and engaging the hub of the ratchet wheel 21.

with this construction, it will be seen that 56 the pawl-carrying wheel [2 can overrun the 'tor through the power take-off from the very substantial momentum of the rotating cutter and blower wheel I. With a solid connection between wheel I and shaft 2, it has been impossible to stop the tractor quickly because of the powerful momentum. With the present arrangement, the

tractor may stop instantly while wheel 1 continues to rotate without driving shaft 2.

The construction shown in Fig. 4 is substantially the same as that shown in Fig. 3 except that a cushioning sleeve 3|, which may be of rubber or other suitable material is provided between the sleeve 32, splined on the drive shaft 8, and the hub 26 of the ratchet wheel II. This enables a cushioned starting .of the rotor which carrier the cutting blades and fan blades.

As indicated above, as the tractor. draws the harvester in the harvesting operation, the sickle,

feeding apparatus 3, cutting or chopping apparatus l and fan 5 are driven from the power takeoff through the shaft 2. The drive from the shaft 2 to the fan and cutter shaft 8 comprises the overrunning clutch on the shaft 2, the

sprocket chain i8, and the sprocket wheel 19.

If, for any reason, the shaft 2 is stopped, the sickle and feed mechanism 3 will stop also. No more forage will be fed into the fan housing under these conditions. However, the fan and cutter will continue to revolve, chopping up any material which may accidentally get into the fan casing and blowing all of the chopped material in the fan casing [0 out through" delivery chute 8.

Further modifications will be apparent to those skilled in the art and it is desired, therefore, that the invention be limited only by the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a forage blower, a fan housing having an inlet. for receiving the forage and a delivery pipe leading therefrom, means for feeding forage into the housing, a rotary cutter in said housing for chopping the forage as it is fed into the housing, a rotary fan in said housing for receiving the chopped forage from the cutter and forwarding it to the delivery pipe, and means including common drive means for driving the feeder means, rotary cutter and fan and including individual transmission between said common drive means and said feeder means on the one hand and between said common drive means and said cutter and fan on the other hand including a forwardly-biased drive one-way overrunning clutch in the individual drive for the rota y fan and cutter which enables momentum to cause the fan and cutter to overrun the feeding means and said common drive means to clear out thematerial in the housing and delivery pipe when the feeding means 'and common drive means are stopped, said individual transmission for the cutter and fan including a drive shaft' coaxial with and fixed to rotate with said fan and cutter.

2. In a tractor-drawn forage harvester, a shaft driven from the power take off of the tractor, a

' housing having an inlet for receiving forage and a delivery pipe leadingctherefromfmeans for feeding forage into the housing, a rotary cutter I in the housing for chopping the forage as it is fed into the housing, a rotary fan in the housing for receiving the chopped forage from the cutter and forwarding it to the delivery pipe, and transmission from said shaft to said feeding means, rotary cutter, and fan, including individual transmission between said shaft and feeding means. on the one hand and between said shaft and said cutter and fan on the other hand including a, forwardly-biased drive one-way clutch in the individual drive for the fan and cutter which enables the fan and cutter to overrun the drive shaft and feeding means thus preventing the momentum of the fan and cutter from pro, pelling the harvester, feeding means and tractor after the power take-off ceases to deliver power, said individual transmission for the cutter and fan including a drive shaft coaxial with and fixed to rotate with said fan and cutter.

CHARLES W. HANSEN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 84,475 Burt Dec. 1, 1868 305,697 Loud Sept. 23, 1884 733,289 Silver July 7, 1903 860,916 Harrison July 23, 1907 984,155 Preston Feb. 14, 1911 1,043,918 Frick Nov. 12, 1912 1,072,924 Dick Sept. 9, 1913 1,769,163 Raney et a1, July 1, 1980 2,152,158 Slater Mar. 28, 1939 2,247,172 Hayes June 24, 1941 2,385,451 Krause et al Sent. 25, 1945 

